


Day at the Races

by sage_theory (papersage)



Category: The Tomorrow People (1973), The Tomorrow People (1992)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-30
Updated: 2010-01-30
Packaged: 2017-10-06 20:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papersage/pseuds/sage_theory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike and Megabyte have a very important matter to resolve, so they decide to settle it with a good old fashioned race.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Day at the Races

**I. On Your Mark**

  
Behind a pair of green goggles, to keep the sand out of his eyes while the Spaceship slowly made it's way out of the sand it had been burrowed in since the coming of mankind itself, Megabyte couldn't resist making the comment, "Bet she can make Ort Cloud in less than twelve parsecs."

With a frown, John turned to Megabyte and said, "A parsec is a measure of distance, not time."

"You really never have watched Star Wars, have you?" Megabyte asked, giving John a clap on the shoulder and a slightly condescending smile.

"I suppose I'm not really a fan of science fiction. I find the truth to be far more fascinating," John replied, coolly.

To his right, Mike began snickering into his hand. Behind his own pair of goggles, John rolled his eyes. Surely letting Mike and Megabyte team up was one of his worst ideas, but the rules of the race dictated that they were allowed to look over each other's work to make sure no one cheated.

Of course, not that the prize was worth cheating over in John's opinion, but the moment a race had been proposed, his friends' competitive natures had been awakened. He had to confess that it would be really rather satisfying to show off just what the new mobile TIM ship would be capable of doing, since the design had been his and the construction Mike's.

When the bulk of the Spaceship raised itself up on untrustworthy propulsion and then plopped down on the sand, causing the island itself to shudder and the ocean waves to go out when they were coming in, John had to confess he did think the mobile TIM ship was superior.

The Spaceship, while admirably constructed with enviable technology that's definitely proven it's durability, lacks not only a certain _je ne sais quoi_, but aerodynamic design. The Spaceship, in its entirety, has a bruiser's build. It is bulky, round like a slightly squashed hamburger with thick arms protruding from it. There weren't even flight fins or directed propulsion outlets that John could see.

In contrast, the mobile TIM ship (which needed among other things, a better name) was a sleek bodied ship designed to penetrate space and planetary atmospheres, slicing through dust and air like a razor. The long, narrow, triangular body had definitely earned the respect of those who'd seen it, in its hidden hangar on one of the small islands that John owned outright.

Just as the sand had settled from the commotion below, it was stirred up from above. Miniature whirlwinds of sand whipped up and the three men on the beach turned their gazes upward.

At first there was nothing to see in the air, though a heavy presence could be sensed in addition to the sharp whine and low, deep rumble that could be heard.

[All right, Tricia, you can take it out of cloaking,] John telepathed to Tricia, who sat in the cockpit, along side Kenny. They had flown the mobile ship around the Earth a few times, as part of the cloak testing. Of course, John was _very_ sure of the cloak's capabilities before he let them do it, but it couldn't hurt to make sure that it was still holding.

It also couldn't hurt to let Tricia and Kenny try it out, since they had been pestering him about it since their return to Earth on a furlough from the Trig.

The mobile TIM ship was a silver arrow in the sky when it appeared. It was almost as if Kenny and Tricia had given the outside an extra coat of polish before they left. It was a perfect monument to design and aesthetic, hovering overhead.

John could near hear the impressed whistle Megabyte let out, but he felt the mental sensation behind it. His smirk was small and brief, but it was there.

[Where shall we put her down?] Tricia asked, and John felt her mind giving a careful eye to the controls, making sure that they weren't going to drop out of the sky on top of John, Mike, and Megabyte.

[There's a clearing on the other side of the island, about a half a click south of us,] Megabyte told her, breaking into the conversation.

[Thank you,] Tricia replied and the mobile TIM ship turn its bearings and set an easy glide over head, rattling the palm leaves on the trees like green confetti.

"Shouldn't your pilots be here?" Mike asked, all sarcasm and feigned politeness.

At that moment, as if on cue (because Tomorrow People had nothing if not the world's best and worst timing), two bodies came flying out of the Spaceship's porthole, coming to rest after hard landings on the sand.

Megabyte drew a breath and smiled, blinking at the two pilots who would be representing their team in the race.

"I thought it was going to launch us into space!" Jade exclaimed, dusting off sand with large welder's gloves on her hands and goggles resting atop her head.

"I really thought that would stop once it was moved," Adam said, wincing a bit as he realized he'd just landed a top a rather large shell. He pulled it out from underneath him and stayed seated in the sand, looking up at Jade.

"Don't look at me, I said we should teleport," Jade replied, but offered her hand to pull him up.

"This is the team you're sending to beat John and Hsui Tai?" Mike asked. "I don't know whether to laugh or be insulted."

"Mike," John said, with a mild frown. "This is a friendly race. I'm sure Jade and Adam are just as capable of handling their ship as we are of ours."

[Besides, it's bad form to be a sore winner,] John said, in a very private aside to Mike that made him smile. The competitive spirit was getting to him, too. The prize didn't mean anything to him, but it would be nice to have a victorious confirmation that the mobile TIM ship was a success.

Jade and Adam teleported the distance from where they stood to join Mike, John, and Megabyte. Adam was still brushing sand out of his clothes and hair when he arrived.

"Oh, man, Adam, what did you do, roll in it?" Megabyte asked, helping Adam clear off some of the sand from his back as he bent over, to get it out of his long hair.

"I landed the same way she did," Adam said, voice cracking as he pointed up at Jade.

"Guess I'm just lucky," Jade said, smiling ever so cat like.

"I suppose that concludes this part of our program," Mike said with a sigh. "Thirty-six hours to make final repairs and updates. We'll meet back here at noon tomorrow to check each other's work?"

"I'll be waiting," Megabyte replied, holding out his hand for a handshake.

The shake Mike gave him was decidedly firm. They grinned at each other like piranas before going their separate ways.

[Mike, try to remember that we're all on the same side,] John telepathed to Mike as they walk the island, toward the site where Tricia has landed their ship.

[Oh, of course. It's all in good fun. Megabyte's a good sport, I'm sure he understands that. Besides, what's the point if we don't all try our best?]

[You really want that prize, don't you?]

[That obvious?]

[Yes, very,] John replied, with a smile in his tone though not on his face.

  
**II. Get Set**

  
"Megabyte! Wake up, Megabyte!"

With a snort, Megabyte came awake, realizing two things immediately, and one a moment later.

The first thing he realized was that he had been asleep. The second thing he realized was that it was the day of the race. The third thing he realized, when he tried to turn over to feel for his alarm clock, some how mistaking Jade's voice for a clock radio, was that he was not in his bedroom. He was actually sleeping on his back, underneath an open panel in the Spaceship's control room and cockpit. To his credit, when he tried sit up and nearly knocked himself out, he was well aware he was not at home and Jade was not an alarm clock. She definitely didn't come with a snooze button.

[I heard that,] Jade said. [Please tell me you didn't stay up all night.]

[Nope. I just got a whole ten minutes of quality sleep, so I think I'm good,] Megabyte said, sliding out from underneath the panel and sitting up

"You're supposed to be ground control for the race. The last thing we need is you dozing off," Jade sighed. "Come on, I'll get you a coffee."

Jade helped Megabyte to stand up and he realized she was already in her AE suit. It was one of the new ones they'd helped John design before the race. These, as opposed to the old model, were sleek and black, fitting closer to the body to allow for greater flexibility. On the right sleeve was a silver patch with the symbol with a silver patch for Special Trig Delegate, in case they were found by anyone who would know what they meant.

Megabyte pressed his palms to his eyes and looked around. "All the adjustments are made, the Ship should be ready for the race. I think I got everything calibrated, too. How much time do I have to inspect the TIM ship?"

[The same amount Mike does. If it makes you feel any better, he only woke up ten minutes ago,] Liz reported to them both, with a silvery laugh in her mental tone. [I'll be interested to see who gets the prize.]

[Let me save you some suspense. It's all mine,] Megabyte said, clapping his hands together, renewed by the prospect of victory and the right to gloat about it for years to come. He turned to Jade with a smirk. "Let's get this show on the road. And you can forget the coffee. I've got all the energy I need."

Jade could not have agreed more.

When Megabyte and Mike had concluded their inspections of each other's ships, assuring themselves that the other team wasn't cheating, they met in the middle of the island.

John, Hsui Tai, Adam, and Jade were all dressed in AE suits - more a precaution than a necessity, but since neither ship was precisely tested in the full rigors of outer space, John and Adam both insisted on caution. These AE suits came with inertial dampening and a two year supply of oxygen, as well as a capacity for stasis in case the wearer was a long time from rescue. They had the Sophians and the Nadorians both to thank for the borrowed technology.

Liz and Ami, who were the neutral parties and very amused at the entire thing met up with the two teams.

"Are we all clear on the rules?" Liz asked, looking to both teams with a glare that Ami repeated.

"Nothing funny, Megabyte," Ami warned pointing a finger at him.

"Geez, I promise," Megabyte replied with a sigh. "Let's get on with it."

"Listen up, everyone. Ami and I picked out the location last night you'll be racing to," Liz said, pulling two folded pieces of paper out of her pocket, handing one to Mike and the other to Megabyte. The unfolded them as though merely finding out the name of the destination was a race itself.

"You'll be going to the edge of the Crab Nebula," Ami said. "The first ship back on the mark in the island after reaching their destination is the winner. Is everyone agreed?"

"Piece of cake," Mike said.

"Bring it on," Megabyte replied.

"Don't think that should be too hard," Adam said.

"Oh no, the Crab Nebula's less than ten thousand light years out. The lightspeed engines should handle it easily," John agreed, in a very reasonable tone.

"Good luck. We will see you when we return," Hsui Tai said, giving a friendly, quick bow to Jade and Adam who returned the gesture with smiles on their faces.

"The same to you. And after this is all done, pizza's on me," Adam told them.

"Then I will endeavor to go very fast," Hsui Tai said, with a quiet kind of smile that made her eyes twinkle. She put the black helmet of the AE suit over her head and teleported off, followed a moment later by John.

Megabyte and Mike rushed off to their stations, both contained within the third Lab location - this one in St. Louis - to take up their places and feed the navigation to their respective teams.

The race wasn't just about speed, but navigation. There were plenty of asteroid fields, planets, and other obstacles in the way that could interfere with the race and slow the ships down. It was up to Megabyte and Mike to see that their teams could actually use the speed their ships were capable of.

Mike and Megabyte could see each other from their stations, headsets on and hands on their consoles.

Liz and Ami stood between them, still looking amused. Liz held a stopwatch in her hand.

[Start your engines, ladies and gentlemen,] Liz said, staring intently at the stopwatch. [Are you each ready?]

[Yes, Liz, we are a-go for launch,] John replied.

[We're ready over here,] Jade chimed in. [May the best ship win.]

[Agreed,] Hsui Tai said, from her seat beside John.

For a split second, the anticipation rolled over Ami and she grinned widely, wishing she had a checkered flag as she telepathed to both teams, [On your mark. Get set. Go!]

The consoles that Megabyte and Mike were sitting at lit up in a second and their fingers began to fly over the keyboards, as their eyes ran over the data screens and the information being fed to them from the ships, the satellites and the Trig directory.

On the beach, two enormous ships, each with its own peculiar kind of beauty roared as they propelled themselves away from the tiny beach, away from the gorgeous blue ocean, away from the blue sky and bright burning sun and the silver moon.

Two teams of Tomorrow People found themselves giving whoops of excitement, mental and vocal, as they escaped the gravity of their strange little planet, venturing out into space at a breakneck speed, all while the world below them knew nothing at all about it.

**III. Go, Go, Go**

  
"We've finally passed them up. They're a quarter light year behind now," John said, reaching above his head to flip a switch. The race was going quite well for him, but it had been neck and neck so far. The ships had spent most of it interweaving their paths, often having to dodge each other because both Megabyte and Mike were giving such similar navigation.

"Do you think they will catch up?" Hsui Tai asked, checking the gauges by her finger tips. "All the readings are good. O2 is normal, hydrogen is normal, filters are normal."

"It depends on their navigation, really. This is the easy part of the race, we're barely past Jupiter. When we get to the Oort Cloud, they might gain on us. It all comes down to Mike."

"Then we will certainly win. He is very determined," Hsui Tai replied, nodding. "Sensors are reading normal."

"Perhaps a bit too determined," John replied, looking askance to Hsui Tai through the visor of his helmet. "I didn't think this race would be so important to him. I certainly don't think what's at stake is anything exciting."

"I think Mike is still trying to impress you," Hsui Tai told him.

"I shouldn't see why."

"You are his friend, and he respects your opinion very much. Even when he does not always show it. You worked on this ship together with him. He wants to show you that you can be proud of him."

John turned his head, confused for a moment. "Proud of him?"

"Mike's father was not around when he was a boy. Neither was mine. Sometimes I want my friends to be proud of me because my parents could not be. We are the same in this."

John smiled and reached across to put his hand on Hsui Tai's shoulder. "You should let people see how wise you are more often."

Hsui Tai returned the gesture, smiling at him and feeling a warm companionable glow inside that was immediately interrupted by the beeping alarms of the gauges and a hard shake of the ship that tossed John right out of his seat.

[John!] Adam telepathed, sounding frantic, just as the mobile TIM ship shook again. [Is that you?]

[Is *what* me?] John asked. [TIM, what's happening?]

[I do not know, John. Something is dragging the ship off course,] TIM replied. [Sensors detect a powerful thermal reading just outside the hull. I am unable to steady our trajectory.]

[If it is you, stop!] Jade pleaded. [It's just a race!]

[We are not doing anything!] Hsui Tai telepathed back. [Something is happening to our ship as well.]

[We can't decelerate, we can't stop,] Adam reported. [Have you tried cutting power to your propulsion?]

[Propulsion's offline already,] John replied. [What do your readings show?]

[I don't know,] Jade said. [It's something. Whatever it is, it's massive and the energy readings are off the charts. I've never seen anything like it.]

[Try reverse propulsion,] John suggested.

[Already did, it's not working. Megabyte said that we're getting way off course. I don't like what's happen - woah!] Adam's mental voice was cut off with a scream that chilled John's blood. Just as he turned, to leave the controls to Hsui Tai while he examined the power supply to the propulsion systems, the TIM ship went into a nauseatingly quick roll, causing both he and Hsui Tai to tumble like laundry.

On the next roll, John caught Hsui Tai's arm and pulled her in towards his body to protect her. He spotted the little black box on her belt and pressed it, activating the inertial dampening so that they wouldn't get quite so bruised as they were tossed about.

[John, Hsui Tai!] Mike called to them desperately. [What's happening up there? You're completely off course, the ship is out of control. John!]

John could only project that he was alive and very, very preoccupied. He latched onto one of the ship's railings and held on tight, his stomach clenching up with the constant spinning.

[John, I don't like this,] Hsui Tai said, holding closely to him, her eyes squeezed shut. He held on to her just a little tighter at that moment.

[It's all right, I've got you. We simply have to ride this out,] He said to her, grimacing through the next hard roll. [Adam, Jade, what's your situation?] he called out. He was tempted to either jaunt to them or have them teleport to him so that he could make certain they, too, were all right - but risking a half-blind jump with their respective ships rolling wildly was a recipe for a bigger disaster.

[The ship is panicking, she's scared. She keeps saying 'let go, let go'. I don't know what that means,] Jade answered.

[We made need to consider abandoning ship,] John said.

[No!] Adam objected, so strongly it made John forget all about the spinning of his own ship for a moment. [I wouldn't leave you out here, and I won't leave her.]

[What if we linked the ships?] Hsui Tai asked, and John could feel her fighting her own gag reflex just as he was beginning to feel sick himself. [Together we might be able to stop ourselves.]

[Good idea. Megabyte! I need our exact positions!] Jade shouted, all the way back to Earth.

[I can't look at his console, that's against the rules,] Megabyte protested.

[You can have the stupid prize. We've got to help them!] Mike said.

[Good point. I'm sending you my data now,] Megabyte replied. [Adam, do you have any control over any of the ships functions, can you steer?]

[A little,] Adam replied. [Whatever it is, it's not letting me direct the ship very much.]

[If you can speed up just a little and bear to this heading, you can link up with their ship. It might work,] Mike instructed him. [Hsui Tai, John, are you all right? We've got a plan.]

[Please make it very quick!] Hsui Tai pleaded.

[Hold on!] Adam warned them both, a moment before a hard impact jarred them both and sent them back to the floor, in a sprawled heap. Panting, but relieved that the ship was finally still, Hsui Tai and John picked themselves up.

"Hsui Tai, are you all right?" John asked, sitting up and looking over his friend, who was still face down on the floor.

"Next time, we will stay on Earth and Mike can fly!" was all Hsui Tai said, and in spite of himself, John laughed.

IV. Neck And Neck

  
Even if it was bitterly disappointing that the race was called off, Megabyte had to admit that space still looked magnificent even tethered to the Spaceship, through an AE helmet.

John and a rather rattled Hsui Tai had joined Jade and Adam, who were equally rattled, inside of the Spaceship after both ships had finally stopped tumbling through space. Feeling both guilty and shaken, both he and Mike immediately put on their AE suits and, with TIM's assistance, teleported to the Spaceship.

[This race was a stupid idea,] Megabyte grumbled, looking over to Mike who was tethered a few yards away, examining one of the biologic panels on the Spaceship's outside.

[Don't beat yourself up, mate,] Mike replied. [It was as much my idea as yours.]

[It was supposed to be fun,] Megabyte telepathed, with a wistful sigh. [I thought I was too old to cause trouble.]

Mike laughed. [Take it from me. There is no such thing as too old to cause trouble.]

[Agh, this is so frustrating! The system integrity is optimal, the biologic systems are running perfectly. What could have caused both ships to malfunction at once?]

[Um, Megabyte? Didn't John say there was a thermal reading during the malfunction?] Mike asked, sounding worried.

[Yeah, why?] Megabyte asked, his head still stuck inside one of the outer compartments on the Spaceship's hull.

[Because I'm getting it again and I think I know why!] Mike shouted, telepathically. [Megabyte, look out, behind you!]

Megabyte turned himself around to see an amorphous cloud of glittering bluish white light coming towards him. His mind felt a wall of energy and noise, pure telepathic static, hit him. An inexorably powerful force gripped his leg and pulled him away. The tether holding him to the Spaceship snapped like twine and he was carried through space and the Ship became an ever distant blur, shrinking in his view.

The others were called his name telepathically and through the AE comma, but the static overpowered both. It had hold of him, and the force was almost crushing. He couldn't gather his thoughts, he could barely gather his breath. The mental white noise was keeping him from teleporting, and he feared that the forces might rip the suit or cause his helmet to come off.

*Just great. I'm going to be killed by a blob of light. This is even worse than pod aliens.* Megabyte thought, so dizzy he didn't know how long he would be able to stay conscious.

The mental static in his mind began to congeal, sloppily.

PLAY. PLAY. PLAY, he heard. It was not like telepathy precisely, but it was not just a physical event, like hearing. It was a knowledge, an understanding that bypassed language all together. PLAY PLAY PLAY.

[Please, stop. I'll play anything you want, just stop!] Megabyte begged. [HELP!]

Just when he was sure he could feel the AE suit tearing under the pull exerted on him, it all stopped. Something held him still and allowed him to float in a lazy circle in the middle of space, surrounded by nebulae and stars and planets that would never be visible from Earth.

Exhausted from terror and so dizzy he was disoriented, Megabyte listened to the sound of his own breathing for a long time. The blue billows of a distant nebula caught his eye, and he thought of the beach, the island, the Earth. He thought about how beautiful it was, and how there was a race he wanted to win, and how his father wouldn't want him to be out here in space in the first place. He thought of Jade and Adam, of Hsui Tai and John in the Spaceship. He thought about how much he would like to go home, to see them again.

**PLAY? PLAY?** the light beaconed.

[No,] Megabyte telepathed to it, as best he could through the over bright haze in his head. [Home.]

A cry ripped through the cosmos in that moment, so shattering that Megabyte felt like he might evaporate entirely inside of it.

**STOP THAT NOW.**

Megabyte's eyes flew open. There was now an even bigger, brighter, more powerful cloud of light approaching him. Stupidly, he tried to flap his arms, forgetting entirely that he was in space and that flapping didn't do anything but make him look ridiculous. This new cloud grabbed him around the middle and pulled him into itself.

**APOLOGIES. YOUNG ONE MEANS NO HARM.**

[What?]

**YOUNG ONE GOT LOST WANTED PLAY TOOK YOU.**

Megabyte blinked. [You're telling me I just got hijacked by an giant space toddler?]

**YES. YOU WERE TAKEN BY YOUNG ONE. WE WILL RETURN YOU. APOLOGIES SMALL BRIGHT.**

Megabyte was about to protest and ask just who exactly the cloud was calling "small", but it occurred to him that he probably shouldn't piss off giant alien entities that could eat him.

[Are you...it's mom?]

**NOT EXACTLY. ALL MOTHER ALL FATHER WITH US.**

[We'll just call you Mom anyway,] Megabyte said. Suddenly the light expanded and grew so bright that it over powered all else. Megabyte's entire being was whited out for a moment and he found himself floating within arm's reach of the Spaceship.

**APOLOGIES SMALL-BRIGHT. **

[Apology accepted,] Megabyte said, before teleporting inside the Spaceship and collapsing on the floor in a shaking heap of relief and leftover adrenaline. He pulled off his helmet and rolled onto his back grateful to see something besides the near infinite expanse of space.

"Megabyte, you're all right!" Adam said, tossling his hair and smiling down at him.

"We were very worried," John said, coming to stand over him. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"I just became an intergalactic plaything, that's what," Megabyte replied sitting up. Adam patted his back and joined him on the floor. "I think we should go home now."

For once, everyone agreed with Megabyte.

V. Photo Finish

  
With the Spaceship burrowed back into the sand and the mobile TIM ship back in it's hanger, and still in need of a better name, the Tomorrow People gathered in the Lab. True to his word, Adam fulfilled his promise of pizza though realizing only belatedly how many pizzas it would take to feed all those hungry Tomorrow People.

Claiming the last slice of Hawaiian style, Megabyte leaned back in his chair and said, "You know, we still didn't decide who should get the prize."

"Oh, you're still on that?" Adam groaned, but laughed at him.

"I think we should decide based on who was ahead at the last reading," Mike said.

"That's not fair, they would've beaten you fair and square if it wasn't for the big cloud thingy," Megabyte replied.

"They're called Eusorodor, according to Timus," John commented lightly, wiping a bit of tomato sauce neatly from the corners of his mouth.

"I don't care what you call them, I think they're even scarier those mosquito things Dr. Culex was cooking up," Megabyte said.

"I think the mosquitos were worse," Ami chimed in.

"Yeah, that's because you didn't get dragged half way across a galaxy by the Eusorodor," Megabyte retorted. "So, how are we going to decide, if we can't have a race?"

"Paper rock scissors?" Mike suggested.

"It would be a lot easier than another race," Liz said, a smile playing on her lips.

"You could flip a coin," Adam put in. "Although, I suppose you could both cheat at that, too."

"I don't see why it's so important," Ami said.

"Not important?" Megabyte and Mike said at the exact same moment. Ami just lifted an eyebrow and shook her head.

"It's the last ticket to the opening night IMAX showing of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes 7: Juice of Evil!" Megabyte exclaimed. "Every other ticket has been completely sold out."

John just groaned and laughed. "This is why I don't like science fiction."

"You could always go to the next showing," Liz suggested, very sensibly.

"And miss opening night? Not on your life," Mike replied. "Besides, IMAX tickets cost a fortune. This one we won off the radio."

"Well, Megabyte, if you did want to get up the money to buy a ticket to the next showing, I suppose that you could always become a Eusorodorian babysitter," Jade said.

Megabyte refrained from telekinetically hurling a pepperoni right at Jade's face, but only just barely.

\- THE END -


End file.
